Georgia Psychiatry and Psychology Billing: 5 Essential Tasks

Georgia psychiatry and psychology billing has two jobs to do well. Psychologists bill psychotherapy and testing codes. Psychiatric prescribers bill evaluation and management (E/M) codes, often with an add-on psychotherapy code. MCM South serves both, and this page explains how the work differs in Georgia.

Georgia psychiatry and psychology billing: what a billing service does

A billing service handles the work between the visit and the payment. For a Georgia practice that means checking benefits before the first appointment, sending clean claims, reading each remittance, and following up on every denial. Our services overview lists each step. The insurance verification service comes first, because a claim built on the wrong benefits is a claim that gets denied.

• Verify eligibility and benefits before the first visit
• Submit claims electronically and fix rejections the same week
• Post payments, read denials, and appeal what should be paid
• Bill secondary insurance when the primary pays
• Report what was paid and what is still open

Psychologists and psychiatrists bill differently

Psychologists and psychiatric prescribers use different codes, so the same payer can treat them differently. Psychologists bill diagnostic evaluation, psychotherapy and, when they test, psychological testing codes. Our guide to psychological testing billing codes covers the testing side. Psychiatrists add E/M visits and add-on psychotherapy, and the first visit may be billed as 90791 or 90792, depending on who performs it.

If you want the full code picture, start with the psychiatry billing guide or the psychology billing services page.

Georgia private payers

Every private payer sets its own rules for authorizations, claim addresses and filing limits. Our Georgia insurance companies contact guide lists provider contact pages for the main plans, checked in October 2026. Blue Cross is its own topic: the Georgia Blue Cross guide explains how it works here. For timely filing, we tell providers to confirm the limit during benefits verification, because it differs by plan and contract.

Medicare for Georgia psychologists and psychiatrists

Medicare is a federal program with its own enrollment and rules. Part B claims go to a Medicare Administrative Contractor, and the Georgia contact guide names the contractor for the state. Private payer approval does not enroll you in Medicare. Check CMS.gov for current rules. Georgia psychiatry and psychology billing for Medicare follows the same federal rules as every other state.

Georgia Medicaid

Georgia Medicaid is run by the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH). DCH lists three care management organizations (CMOs) on its CMO page: Amerigroup, CareSource and Peach State. DCH labels that table as of March 11, 2025, so confirm the current plans before you bill. Each plan can set its own claim and authorization steps, so see Medicaid managed care organization for the term.

Georgia Pathways to Coverage, the state’s work-requirement coverage program, was reported on August 24, 2026 by Atlanta News First as set to expire at the end of 2026 unless the federal government approves Georgia’s funding request. The outcome was not final when we checked. Watch DCH for updates, and see our post on Medicaid work requirements.

Georgia rules that vary by state

Licensure, scope of practice and telehealth rules are set by Georgia, not by a billing service. Confirm them with your licensing board. Nothing here is legal advice. If a payer dispute carries real financial exposure, ask your attorney or compliance officer.

Georgia posts from MCM South

We also write about Georgia psychiatry and psychology billing for specific parts of the state. See our posts for Marietta, Alpharetta and Savannah.

Where MCM South works

MCM South serves psychotherapists and psychiatrists in ten currently served states: Georgia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, Florida, New York, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina and Illinois. We bill for solo and medium-size mental and behavioral health practices only, not hospital systems. We also bill out-of-network claims for clients. For Georgia psychiatry and psychology billing, use the button below.

The short version

• Georgia psychiatry and psychology billing needs a separate setup for psychologists and for psychiatrists.
• Verify benefits and filing limits before the first visit.
• Keep private payer, Medicare and Georgia Medicaid rules separate.
• Confirm the current Georgia Medicaid plans with DCH before you bill.
• MCM South can handle the billing. See our credentialing service if you are also joining networks.

Sources checked (10/26/26)

• Georgia DCH, care management organizations page
• Atlanta News First, Georgia Pathways deadline (8/24/26)

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions